Search
252 items matching your search terms.
Green Paper on urban mobility
The European Commission's new Green Paper entitled "Towards a new culture for urban mobility" looks at the mobility and ecology of European towns and cities. In Europe a good 60% of the population lives in urban areas. Just under 85% of the EU's gross domestic product is generated in those areas.
News
European Commission adopts measures to promote freight traffic
On 18 October the European Commission adopted a series of measures aimed at boosting the efficiency, integration and sustainability of freight transport within the Union.
News
Interreg III B projects MONITRAF and ALPNAP
Transport across the Alps is at the centre of the Final Conference of the Interreg III B projects MONITRAF and ALPNAP, which have been running since 2005. The Conference is entitled "Transport across the Alps. Approaches and common measures for sustainable transport development in the Alpine region".
News
Successful environmental campaign aimed at protecting the Alps
On August 11 some 40 "high fires" burned throughout the alpine region to draw attention to a sustainable future for the Alps. Fires were lit in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy and Kyrgyzstan as a symbol of a better quality of life in the alpine region.
News
International workshop series "Disseminating Knowledge - Networking People" Transport and visitor management in mountain areas
On May 10 and 11 CIPRA International and CIPRA Slovenia organised a workshop on the topic of "Transport and Visitor Management in Mountain Areas". It became clear already with the first contributions that there are no straightforward answers when it comes to the relationship between transport development and regional development. There are areas of the Alps which do well economically despite being difficult to access.
News
An outgoing airport for the Allgäu
In the view of the project's initiators the opening of the Memmingerberg regional airport in the Allgäu/D on 28 June represents the "opportunity of the century". Bavaria subsidised the project to the tune of €7.3 m, with total investments amounting to €20 m.
News
The Alps' longest railway tunnel
Last weekend saw the official inauguration ceremony of the Lötschberg base tunnel in Switzerland after a construction period of eight years. At 34.6 km it is the third longest railway tunnel in the world. The new link between the Bernese Oberland and the Valais drastically reduces the journey time.
News
New publication on freight traffic transiting through the Alpine region
(6.6.2007) A new book entitled "SWOMM - Scientific Workshop on Mountain Mobility and Transport" published as part of the Interreg IIIB project AlpFRail summarises the results of the international workshops SWOMM 2005 and SWOMM 2006.
News
Car-free holidays - information and offers
(24.5.2007) The homepage of the "Alpine Pearls", i.e. 21 tourist resorts in the Alps fully committed to the idea of soft mobility, is offering a new service.
News
Alpine transit under EU observation
The new EU observatory for traffic in the Alpine region became operational in mid-March. It has been set up to monitor road, rail and combined traffic in the Alpine region.
News
From the Dorfmobil Klaus project to the reawakened Merano-Mals railway - "Soft mobility" helps to promote tourism in remote areas
The major problems caused by transit traffic through the Alps dominate the media. And yet it is all too often forgotten that more than two thirds of traffic in the Alps is home-made. So what are the alternatives? This was one of the key questions put to our team of experts.
News
Boosting cross-alpine rail freight traffic
The Adriazug pilot project has been launched in a bid to reduce the burden of HGV traffic on transit routes through the Alps.
News
New publication on the Eurovignette directive
The EU's revised Eurovignette directive, which is to harmonise the rules governing road tolls for lorries, has been in force since June 2006, and a new publication takes a detailed look at it.
News
Switzerland: NEAT costs have doubled
More than 600 participants from all over Europe recently convened in Lucerne/CH for this year's Swiss Tunnel Congress to find out more about the state of progress with the New Alps Transversal Route, or Neat.
News
Trucks nose-to-tail on the Brenner, with or without rail tunnel
A study by the Swiss traffic research institute progtrans on plans for a Brenner railway tunnel has called into question the purpose of the project. Even if the base tunnel were to be completed by 2015, the number of trucks on the Brenner would increase by 2,000 a day by 2025.
News
International conference on cross-alpine traffic
The international "Transport Across the Alps" conference is to be held in Lucerne/CH from 1 to 3 December. Key issues to be addressed at the conference include the impact of road traffic along the main alpine thoroughfares, the influence of statutory and political provisions on transit traffic and the interactions between transport, regional development, tourism, the environment and the economy.
News
"Pearls of the Alps" - Tourism communities promote gentle mobility
25 communities in Italy, Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland have come together to form the "Pearls of the Alps" network. Their objective is to combine tourist sights with the benefits of gentle mobility.
News
Alpine transit exchange - a feasible, efficient and cost-effactive solution
An Alpine transit exchange is seen as a viable option for promoting a shift from road to rail for transalpine heavy goods vehicle traffic. A report commissioned by the Swiss Ministry of Transport has confirmed the technical feasibility and economic acceptability of such a solution.
News
Research into environmental impacts along the main Alpine traffic arteries
This spring saw the launch of ALPNAP, a new project in the framework of the EU's Interreg IIIB Alpine Space Programme.
News
Breakthrough in the Lötschberg railway tunnel
28 April saw the breakthrough right in the middle of the almost 3-kilometer-long Lötschberg rail tunnel under the Swiss Alps.
News
Austria in Bid for Alpine Convention Water Protocol
The main areas of focus of Austria's chairmanship of the Alpine Convention have now been defined. At a press conference held in Innsbruck/A on 18 March Environment Minister Josef Pröll outlined Austria's programme. According to Mr Pröll Austria is to focus on adopting a Water Protocol, addressing transport issues and completing the Progress Report on the state of the Alps.
News
Increased heavy goods traffic on the Brenner route
In 2004 more than fifty percent fewer trucks were carried by the RoLa piggyback services on the Brenner railway than in the previous year. Whereas 140,000 HGVs used the rail link in 2003, the figure for 2004 was a mere 60,000. In contrast, truck traffic on the Brenner motorway increased by a monthly average of twenty percent (in the period January to October).
News
8th Alpine ministerial meeting: mixed results
At the 8th Alpine Conference held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen/D on 16 November the Environment Ministers of the alpine states were unable to reach agreement on drawing up a legally binding "Population and Culture" protocol for the Alpine Convention. In the area of transport however the alpine states intend to set a new direction.
News
Who's picking up the bill? New study on external transport costs in Germany and Europe
A study published in early October on the external costs of transport in the EU, Switzerland and Norway by the research institutes IWW (Karlsruhe/D) and Infras (Zurich/CH) shows that the transport system in Germany causes some €150 bn in health and environmental costs each year.
News
Landmark NEAT Project under pressure to cut costs
According to the Swiss Federal Office for Transport total costs of Switzerland's "New Alps Transversal Route" (NEAT) are likely to be CHF 302 m higher than calculated in the summer, due essentially to geological fault zones, uncertainties about the planned route and costly rail securing techniques.
News
REMOTION - International conference on environmentally friendly mobility concepts and tourism
REMOTION 2004 is an expert conference that invites participants to consider and discuss the future prospects of mobility in tourism. It is being held at Werfenweng/A from 19 to 21 September and aims to bring together tourism destinations and manufacturers of environmentally sound transport and drive technologies.
News
Switzerland: internet timetable for mountain enthusiasts
The Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) has posted a new German and French internet page at www.alpenonline.ch , to help mountaineers plan their tours.
News
Fires aglow for alpine protected areas
The "Fire across the Alps" event aims to send a glowing message on behalf of alpine policy in 2004, too. The emphasis this year is on alpine protected areas. Other "pot burners" include transit traffic and local issues. The fires also symbolise the solidarity between alpine countries and regions.
News
Ministers of alpine countries: More road safety and alternatives to road traffic
At a meeting in Switzerland the transport ministers of alpine countries underlined their commitment to improve road safety in cross-alpine HGV traffic in a joint and concerted effort adapted to the needs of the alpine countries, and to bolster the policy of transporting HGV traffic by rail. The meeting was attended by representatives from Germany, France, Italy, Austria and the EU Commission.
News
EU decisions on the issue of transport
During a Conciliation meeting held on 16 March the European Parliament and the European Commission reached an agreement on issues concerning the Second railway package. Under the agreement rail freight markets (incl. cabotage) are to be completely opened up as of 2007. Agreement was also reached on new regulations for railway safety and interoperability as well as the establishment of a European Railway Agency.